Modern Dadhood | Unpacking Fatherhood + Parenting for Dads (and Moms!)

There are certain qualities, like leadership, empathy, kindness, respect, and compassion, that we all aspire for our children to embody as they grow. In this episode, Adam and Marc get a bit deep with Pulitzer Prize winner and Official White House photographer for two presidential terms, Pete Souza, who had the remarkable opportunity to capture these qualities in iconic moments throughout the Obam...

Is there a "right" way to reach our children to be independent and self-reliant? If we always do everything for them, they may never learn to own their responsibilities. But it can be emotionally trying ( and short-term inconvenient ) to allow them to fail and learn from their mistakes. B Kim joins us to discuss his family's approach to instilling a sense of personal responsibility in their two te...

There are a million idioms about death: It's "the only certainty in life." It's "the end of the road." It's "the great equalizer." But even as adults, death can be impossibly difficult to understand and process, let alone to know the best way to explain death to our kids. Mortician Victor M. Sweeney joins the conversation to share his wisdom on how to answer our kids' questions, and why it's impor...

The guys make a formal apology for ghosting listeners for a short late-Summer stretch before talking "back to school" season with friend and dad of two, Scott Mazuzan. Episode 90 of Modern Dadhood starts with a rapid-fire catch up between Adam and Marc in which they each share several quick life updates in just a few words with no additional context. As you might expect, hilarity ensues! The guys...

"Work-Life Balance" is a buzzworthy phrase that has taken on new meaning since 2020. And it's a funny one, because it essentially divides your time into two camps: Work... and everything else. As parents, we all strive to set boundaries such that when we're NOT working, we can be present with our family or rediscover our sense of self... but it's rarely as simple as it sounds. In fact, Young Han,...

One of the most important things we must drive home to our children before putting a device in their hand, according to Privacy Professional Marc Groman, is that what they share on the internet should be treated as public and permanent... even if they only intend for one person to see it. Groman, who served in the Obama administration as chair of the Federal Privacy Council and Senior Advisor for...

We've all heard (or experienced) the horror stories around cyber bullying, the consequences of sexting, or kids accidentally blowing through thousands of dollars on a popular video game. And as dads, contemplating how (and when) to grant our kids access to certain types of technology can be overwhelming. But even beyond which social media accounts or how much screen time we allow, it's imperative...

It was never all that easy to predict the future, but it always felt like there were at least a few things you could rely on. However, these days, the fate of even some of the more historically steadfast institutions is murky at best: for example, the notion of attending college to get a degree so you can venture out on the path to your career. What will any of that look like in five or ten years?...

We love and respect all the mothers all year 'round... and can't think of a better day than Mother's Day to turn the show over to our wives to let them catch up about "modern momhood." This episode features the "Mom Takeover" by Sarah Flaherty and Jamie Checket, originally shared in June of 2021. With little instruction and a batch of questions and prompts to address at their will, Sarah and Jamie...

Adam and his 9-year-old daughter Summer share about their epic family vacation to Orlando which included several days at Universal Orlando Resort, and their once-in-a-lifetime invitation to join hosts David and Kari on the Discover Universal podcast. Episode 85 of Modern Dadhood, a "bonus episode," opens with a chat about April vacation. Marc shares that at 5 years old, his twin boys don't yet con...

[This is part 2 of a 2 part conversation]   In "The Lonely Dad Conversations," comedian Chris Gethard interviews a dozen dads to explore commonalities between their fatherhood journeys. What he finds, is that, plain and simple, when we become dads, we turn pretty lame. That's not to say that becoming a parent isn't an amazing, powerful, and positive life change, but think about it... are you as co...

Most new-dads-to-be do the obligatory preparation: You look through the couple of "survival guide" style books gifted to you by a friend. Watch YouTube videos on swaddling techniques. Read up on tips for potty training. Buy a new coffee maker to elevate your caffeine game. And ready your mind for the impending insanity of parenthood. But somehow, despite all the "thorough" preparation, every new p...

Remember AOL Instant Messenger? ICQ? Friendster? Do you recall the excitement and curiosity of exploring these platforms and connecting with new people? The internet was new, and our parents were either learning it alongside us... or maybe not interested in it at all. Either way, for many of us, our parents were not closely monitoring our exploration of the internet, or even aware of the inherent...

You know that feeling when you really want to be a dad but you've been in a powered wheelchair since you were two years old and you aren't sure if your balls can produce enough viable sperm that you and your partner can conceive so you do some testing and find out that the doctors aren't certain either which means that you can totally TRY but you're carefully considering all your options because y...

Shane Burcaw wants to be a dad. He and his wife Hannah Aylward make no secret of their desire to become parents as they share some of the most private aspects of their unique interabled life together in weekly videos and podcast episodes on their YouTube channel Squirmy and Grubs. But will their ability to have biological kids be thwarted by Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), the disease that has foun...

January 2023 marks the third birthday of Modern Dadhood. And at 79 episodes in, we've had some remarkable conversations with dads of all walks of life. In line with our mission, we've gained plenty of new perspective on what it means to be a father... but the learning and laughs don't stop here! In the "New Years" episode, we ponder new topics to cover and guests to invite in 2023. Don't drop off...

Joe Mandravelis was about to become a dad to twins when he and his wife learned their two year old daughter had Autism Spectrum Disorder. What they also learned, was having one child with autism means any other children you have are 20 times more likely to be on the spectrum. Joe joins Modern Dadhood to discuss the joys, challenges, and general insanity of raising three amazing and powerful kids w...

Everyone wants to belong. According to Jermaine Moore, to feel welcome, respected, seen, and heard, comes second only to our human desire to be loved. That's why Jermaine, a father of four, has devoted his career to teaching and training business leaders on the vital importance (and proven benefits) of prioritizing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the workplace, while also teaching young  peopl...

What new dad doesn't feel over tired, overwhelmed, and thrown for a life-changing loop? But how do you know if YOUR experience is more intense than any other new dad—or when it warrants seeking help? Journalist and Editor Joe Keohane (Men's Health, Entrepreneur, The New York Times) joins the conversation to share about his research on, and personal experience with, paternal postpartum depression....

At what point in your life did you realize that you wanted to be a father? Even as a kid, actor Jon Heder recognized he was born to be a dad. When the cultural phenomenon Napoleon Dynamite unexpectedly launched him into the spotlight in 2004, Jon knew how he’d balance that with family life: family would simply always take priority. Nearly 20 years and four kids later, Jon works when he wants to, i...

What do a sheep with a jetpack, a drunk uncle, and a pot smoking manatee have in common? They’re all hilarious characters from the brilliant mind of actor/comedian Bobby Moynihan. The Saturday Night Live alum joins Adam and Marc to swap dad stories, drop a little sage advice about meditation, and talk about his new children’s book “Not All Sheep are Boring!” Spoiler alert: some are actually quite...

Raise your hand if you’re sort of done with the buzz phrase work/life balance ? Same. As parents, the balance that we strike every day goes far more granular than just “work” and “life.” Stress, mindfulness, nourishment, sleep, play, relationships, role modeling, mental health, social life… that’s a challenging equilibrium! And when you don’t put in the work to keep this balance in check, it can e...

As if there isn’t enough we parents have to keep straight between juggling work, kids’ schedules, meal prep, endless laundry, and maybe the occasional workout sesh… And on top of it all, we’re expected to manage our finances and plan for the future. When money is abundant, this can be a fun and exciting challenge. But when money is scarce, it can be a colossal source of stress. Self-proclaimed “An...

Announcement:   Modern Dadhood is featured in the August 2022 issue of Podcast Magazine! Subscribe at http://podcastmagazine.com or follow Modern Dadhood on Facebook or LinkedIn to view the article. Part of being a parent is helping to teach our kids to have—and utilize—a creative mindset. And even though sometimes it can be a struggle to bring a creative idea to life, there are plenty of lessons...

There’s no argument that we, as humans, learn from our mistakes. As we grow, we apply learnings from our negative or challenging experiences in order to be happier, more comfortable, or more prepared in the future. As parents though, it can be a challenge to give our children the opportunity to fail at something—especially when we have the foresight to see it coming and the ability to prevent it....